1

The Coalition to Save the Polish School (KROPS) opposes the introduction, as of September 1, 2026, of compulsory “Health Education,” pointing to its anti-family and gender-ideology character.

2

In the Coalition’s view, imposing content of this kind violates the right of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own convictions (Article 48 of the Polish Constitution) and the constitutional protection of marriage, the family, motherhood and parenthood (Article 18).

3

KROPS calls on parents to withdraw their children as soon as possible from the optional subject “Health Education – Sexual Health,” which it likewise assesses as anti-family and gender-ideology-driven.

4

The Coalition demands the complete elimination of the subject, a return of pro-family education to schools, and the teaching of health-related content across ten separate subjects, as was the case for many years.

5

On the websites ratujmyszkole.pl and takdlaedukacji.pl, KROPS provides a “Parental Declaration” – a resource for parents wishing to protect their children from the harmful influence of the new subject’s content.

The Coalition to Save the Polish School (KROPS) has published a position statement concerning the core curricula of the two parts of “Health Education” – the compulsory part and the optional “Health Education – Sexual Health.” The Coalition firmly protests against the introduction into schools, as of September 1, 2026, of content that it assesses as anti-family and driven by gender ideology.

Contrary to the widespread belief that the threat concerns only the optional classes on sexual health, KROPS warns that objectionable content has also found its way into the compulsory part of the subject. The Coalition demands the elimination of “Health Education” in its entirety and a return to teaching health-related content within the existing subjects.

The text of the document is reproduced below:

POSITION STATEMENT OF THE COALITION TO SAVE THE POLISH SCHOOL ON THE CORE CURRICULA OF THE TWO PARTS OF HEALTH EDUCATION: THE COMPULSORY AND THE OPTIONAL

Regulations of the Minister of Education setting out the core curriculum for Health Education have been published in the Journal of Laws. This subject has been divided into two parts: a compulsory one and an optional one. The compulsory part is called “Health Education,” and the optional one “Health Education – Sexual Health.”

As the Coalition to Save the Polish School, we firmly protest against the introduction into schools, as of September 1, 2026, of anti-family content within “Health Education” – and in compulsory form at that! At the same time, we call on parents to withdraw their children from the optional subject “Health Education – Sexual Health.”

On behalf of the Coalition, we firmly and categorically oppose the introduction into schools of compulsory “Health Education,” because it contains content that is anti-family and rooted in gender ideology. This is demonstrated by the approved core curriculum and the teachers’ handbook [1], the students’ handbook, and the training program for teachers of this subject [2]. Imposing an anti-family, gender-ideology message during school classes breaches the right of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own beliefs, a right affirmed in the Polish Constitution (Article 48). It is also an attack on the constitutional protection of marriage, the family, motherhood and parenthood (Article 18). Appealing, therefore, to the country’s fundamental law, parents have the right to demand that the compulsory education provided in schools be pro-family in character and that it support young people in accepting themselves, their sex and their bodies.

They therefore have the right to demand that:

– pro-family education be enshrined as an obligation of the school in its statute and in the school’s educational and preventive program;

– compulsory classes contain no anti-family content and nothing that undermines acceptance of one’s own sex and body.

On behalf of the Coalition, we also call on all parents to withdraw their children as soon as possible from the optional subject “Health Education – Sexual Health”!

This subject – like the compulsory one – is anti-family and steeped in gender ideology. This is indicated by the content of the core curriculum and of the materials associated with the subject (the teachers’ handbook, the student’s handbook, teacher training, projects addressed to students and teachers, and the views of the authors of the core curriculum).

Until now, sexual topics have been addressed in school within the context of marriage and the family, in the optional subject “Family Life Education.” That subject has been abolished, and sexual topics have been moved into the context of health. This fact alone carries an anti-family message – for it conveys that, in the sexual sphere, the family does not matter. At the same time, this runs counter to the statutory mandate for the subject contained in the Act of January 7, 1993 on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Fetus and the Conditions for the Admissibility of [so-called] Termination of Pregnancy, under which school curricula are to include, among other things, knowledge about the value of the family and of life in its prenatal phase – which is likewise absent from the core curriculum of Health Education and of Health Education – Sexual Health.

We also wish to strongly emphasize that, as a Coalition, we are in favor of:

– the complete elimination of the subject “Health Education” (currently divided into two parts);

– a return of pro-family education to schools;

– a return to teaching health-related content across ten separate subjects, as was the case in schools for a number of years.

We believe that the subject “Health Education” should be abolished not only on account of its anti-family and gender-ideology character. The very design of this ostensibly interdisciplinary subject is also flawed: it was created in isolation from established academic disciplines, relying to a considerable extent on fluid convictions and ideological slogans.

Among other things, doubts are raised by the one-sided presentation of such topics as protective vaccination, transplant medicine, futile therapy, the question of a healthy diet, and the approach to climate change – without presenting the various positions present in public debate, and instead with a focus on tracking down disinformation.

On the websites ratujmyszkole.pl and takdlaedukacji.pl, we are publishing a “Parental Declaration,” which serves as a resource for parents wishing to protect their children from the harmful influence of this subject’s content.

On behalf of the Coalition to Save the Polish School

Coordinators:

Hanna Dobrowolska, School Protection Movement

Agnieszka Pawlik-Regulska, the Association of Teachers and Education Workers “Teachers for Freedom”

Attorney Marek Puzio, Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture Foundation

Elżbieta Lachman, Polish Parents’ Forum

Zbigniew Barciński, Ph.D., NATAN Association of Educators

[1] A more extensive discussion of the core curriculum and the teachers’ handbook can be found in the KROPS opinion: ratujmyszkole.pl/opinia-koalicji… [accessed: July 22, 2026].

[2] More on the training: webinar on health education and promotion of transition in health education [accessed: July 22, 2026].

See also:

Source of cover photo: iStock